Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Okie McDonough.
Hi Kim Okie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began dancing at the age of 3 in South New Jersey. My mom was a Physical Education Major and a champion skier for many years in Pennsylvania. She loved keeping my sister, my brother and me active.. After doing soccer and softball, I pleaded to only dance. She saw my passion and did her very best to provide me with great training. After high school, I attended Rutgers University where I majored in Psychology and Minored in Religion. My father was not keen on spending college education money on a dance degree. So I found another way to continue my dance journey. I began the group, Rutgers Performing Dance Company back in 1989. This company still exists today and has over 100 members every year. It is student run, and student taught no matter what level they are, it gives dancers the opportunity to perform, teach and choreograph. Not only did I do this during college full time, I also worked as a professional dancer at a talent agency based in Philadelphia.
After graduation, alongside teaching children with Autism, I taught for the Rutgers Community Ed program, and was the Faculty advisor for RPDC. Eventually, I went back to teaching dance full time. I managed and taught at my old stomping ground, Jazz Unlimited in Martlon NJ. directed by Carryl Slobotkin and her husband Fred. They trained and taught me everything they could about running a business. From a very young age, I knew I wanted to teach. Now I had the experience and the tunnel vision of owning my own studio. I took a chance in 1994 and moved to Jacksonville FL where my dad was living. I started teaching at Landon Middle School in 1994(the neighborhood Arts magnet program) and continued on to teach at LaVilla School of the Arts until 2014. My dreams of opening my own studio came to fruition in 1997. Dansations was born into a small, 900 square foot building. Within three years, we grew out of this building and moved to 2500 square feet. In that time, I also taught at Stanton Prep, Jacksonville University and what is now known as FSCJ. I had my wonderful son in 2002. I look back now and I really do not know how I did all of that! By 2006, I opened a second location in Ponte Vedra then by 2009, I consolidated both studios into our 4300 square foot location off Phillips and Old St. Augustine Rd. When COVID hit, that was when I truly realized what I had built and decided to do everything possible to keep a space where kids could safely learn and find their passion for dance. I realized that Dansations will always be a place for kids to freely express themselves, be challenged, supported and nurtured. I am so proud of the wonderful humans that have come through our studio over the years. My favorite moments are when they come back to visit as adults and when they bring their children to dance with us. This is Dansation’s 28th year in business. I am officially the CEO and teach only when I can or want to. My amazing staff and faculty truly understand the concept of teamwork and believe in the idea that we can change lives. Dance is not just about wonderful technique, it is about the whole person. It involves true concentration, confidence, control, and commitment. These dancers walk away with a great dance education as well as life skills that will last a lifetime. They learn resilience, teamwork, patience, and true expression. I could go on for days about what dance can do for a person of any age. It has always been my happy place and my safe space. I am proud of what I built over the years and I know it does not happen alone. There have been so many staff and families that have helped the studio become what it is today. I am grateful for the chance to continue the legacy which has become Dansations. I hope it will remain a big part of this Jacksonville community as we continue to perform and share the love of dance at any and all community events possible.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In my first 10 plus years of ownership, I had multiple jobs on the side to insure that I could pay my staff and keep my doors open. I worked at LaVilla Middle School of the Arts, JU, FSCJ and Stanton Prep. In the summers, I would teach in other states and countires so that my other teachers could work at the studio. My family was so supportive and would help out when ever they could. My wonderful mother in law, would come to work my front desk for me in the beginning years, In 2004, I had a major flood in the studio. A city water main broke right under the dance floor and sprouted out like a fountain for hours while we scrambled to save anything we could from the studio. We were able to construct some sort of space in one of the empty, unfinished units with no AC and no running bathrooms until the studio was fixed. Miraculously, we did all of this within two weeks. The studio families helped and supported us while we rebuilt the studio.
The other big challenge was probably the same for everyone – COVID. This was big for everyone. Within the first few hours of the news, I was searching online for any information about how to cope with this upcoming world trauma. I was lucky enough to find DSOA – Dance Studio Owners Association. Clint Salter was the CEO of this company and was offering free advice and seminars to help studio owners through this very challenging time. Within 48 hours, I had the entire studio switched over to virtual classes. Unlike most studios, we kept our initial Recital date and did a Livestream recital. It was an enormous amount of work and training that I did not have. W e took footage from our zoom rooms, edited and reedited until each class had their very own recital dance – in costume! I made sure to get News coverage, I had zoom meetings with parents to make sure they knew what our objective was. That was to try and keep some type of “normal” for the dancers. We danced in Zoom but we also socialized, played games and shared our frustrations. By the time July of 2021, we had made it through and had doubled our enrollment. I only lost 10% of my business in that challenging year. I give 100% credit to my faculty and staff that believed in my mission and put in the countless hours to keep the kids moving and feel a sense of normalcy in a world that changed overnight.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a teacher and choreographer for over 35 years, I would say that my specialty would be my jazz and contemporary choreography. As a Studio Owner, I love when our dancers go to competition and they win the Studio awards or the spirit awards. It shows that no matter how hard you work, you are stronger with a team.
I am most proud of the fact that I have successfully stepped into a new role as the CEO. I have worked since 2020 to make sure the studio can run without my presence everyday. I am actively involved and connected but I do not have to physically be there everyday. I am proud that I truly understand what it means to have a passion for something and also to know what it means to run a successful business. They are not one and the same. Passion drives you to open but learning and growing outside of your passion is what keeps the Business grow.
What sets Dansations apart is just that. we try to offer new programs and opportunities for our dancers and families while keeping strong in our core values and mission. We have 4 levels of performance and competition teams to help families decide what level of commitment is best for them. We offer a STAR program that does not just put older dancers into a room to assist teachers, but it trains them and follows their progress each season so that they might be a teacher themselves one day. We have a specialized Cool Cat Program for our dancers ages 3-8 that gives them report cards along the way. This allows dancers and families to see their progress.. We have multiple recitals so that the shows are not too long to sit through. We make sure our younger dancers do not stay out late or get overtired. We make sure our families are truly communicated with and they know all the costs and expectations right from the beginning of the season.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We love to perform in the community so please email [email protected] of you would like us to participate in your event. Our families truly support the community and we love teaching this to the dancers. If you want us to collaborate on events, you can reach out to me directly at [email protected].
The best way to support us is to come try a class on us! We always offer a free trial class. And if you are unsure what your dancer will like, you can come try unlimited classes for a week for only $15.
Pricing:
- We bundle our monthly pricing. It includes costume(s) and recital.
- 1 class a week -$110 a month
- 2 classes a week – $187 a month
- 3 classes a week – $263 a month
- Check our website for all pricing. [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dansationsjax.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DansationsJax/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DansationsJax/
